"You two kids, what are you up to, sneaking around? Why are you back so late?"
At this point, The White Sailboat Anchor had already closed.
After the two entered through a side door, they saw two older men drinking in the hall. Their cheeks were slightly red, and they were already a little drunk.
"Just went for a stroll. You keep drinking your wine," Siegert waved his hand and said, then immediately went upstairs with Alka, returning to their temporary guest room.
Aube's voice followed from behind them. "Dinner has already been sent to your room; it should still be hot."
"Okay, got it."
After returning to the room, the two of them closed and locked the door tightly.
Then they each took out the weapons they had hidden and placed them on the table.
"So this is treasure hunting? It's incredibly interesting!"
Perhaps because it was his first time treasure hunting, a trace of excitement still lingered on Siegert's face. He toyed with the pistol in his hand. He ejected the magazine, spun it around, then reinserted it and made an aiming gesture.
"Have you used one before?" Alka asked from the side.
Siegert nodded. "I had one before, but my mom bought it. You know, sailing can be a bit dangerous sometimes." Then, his voice grew quieter. "But I broke that pistol. I didn't dare tell my mom."
No wonder I haven't seen him use one before.
"But these two guns don't have any bullets. Looks like we'll have to buy some tomorrow to keep on hand. And after all this time, I don't even know if this one here will still work."
As Siegert spoke, he inspected the pistol in his hand. Outwardly, there were no major issues with it, just a lot of dust.
Alka looked at the two guns in front of him.
One was a pistol, very similar in style to the shop's prized treasure he had seen earlier. He could feel that the wood used for the grip was more comfortable, with a smooth, sanded texture.
Then, his attention shifted entirely to the sawed-off, double-barreled shotgun, which could also be called a shotgun pistol. It was only about as long as his forearm. The gun's body was engraved with beautiful lines in gold thread, and the trigger and grip were similarly adorned with reliefs. It looked somewhat like a piece of art, and its barrel was clearly made of some kind of metal that didn't feel like iron to the touch.
This is the real treasure.
But outwardly, there were indeed no problems at all.
Just then, Siegert finished checking his two firearms and said, "The pistol uses Number 3 ammunition; it's really powerful. For this kind of double-barreled hunting shotgun, the bullets aren't easy to buy. I don't even know if they're available."
It seemed Siegert really knew more about these things than he did. He still didn't understand the differences between pistol ammunition types. The only thing he thought he knew was that the larger the number, the larger the caliber should be.
Alka pulled out a stool, sat by the table, and spread the map out again.
His palm trembled slightly, and a blue crystal, about the size of the tip of his little finger, appeared. He had found it accidentally in the secret room and had immediately slipped it into his hand.
It should be some kind of material.
With a wave of his hand, the crystal block vanished.
Alka refocused his attention on the map. He clicked on the blue dot, which had already dimmed.
[Alando Ture's Legacy] (Claimed)
[Difficulty: Strongman]
[Fame: 6]
[Treasure Information: Alando Ture's manor, which houses the works from the master's peak. It also houses various items he considered "failures," left behind in his secret workshop from his attempts to create those peak works. The only regret is that his ultimate masterpiece wasn't his favorite revolver, but a pistol-shaped shotgun.]
[Treasure Rewards: Locking Device-G3 Pistol-shaped Shotgun, Jungle Cat Six-shot Revolver.]
As he obtained the treasure and gathered more information in Alando's secret room, the treasure information expanded with another entry.
No wonder Jason chose two pistols.
He picked up the somewhat heavy shotgun before him. Is it called the Locking Device? Could its special ability be related to its name? I don't know what special abilities it might have, nor how to activate them. I'll have to buy some ammunition and try to figure it out later.
Just then, Siegert placed his gun under his pillow and brought over bread and stew from a small table near the door.
"Stew again, and sea fish stew at that! Can't Aube make something else? Does he only know how to cook this?" he complained, handing Alka his share.
Alka shook his head helplessly and said with a smile, "Just be grateful we have something to eat. Let's eat and rest for a bit. Tomorrow, we'll go into town and buy some things."
"Alright, I'll go with you tomorrow. Those merchants love to rip off us Home Islanders."
Hearing this, Alka immediately asked, "Why? Is there something different about Home Islanders?"
Siegert turned his head, his cheeks still working as he chewed, and looked at Alka with a slightly odd expression.
"You don't know?"
"How would I know?"
"Oh, right." Siegert scratched his head, suddenly remembering Alka's situation. After organizing his thoughts, he replied, "Well, the Home Islands are Lands of Divine Protection."
"Every Home Island has a god's blessing, with special crops, fertile land, and a pleasant environment. This ensures the island's safety, and most importantly, its residents have divine protection." As he said this, Siegert's smile grew even brighter.
"Anyone who harms a Home Island resident without cause, especially if it leads to their death, will suffer a Curse."
"So, normally, no one is willing to harm Home Island residents, and Home Islanders won't deliberately offend others either." Siegert shrugged and took a big bite of the bread in his hand. "After all, if we go around offending people, I'm sure they'd be more than happy to beat us up."
"And that," he added, "wouldn't be covered by the protection."
Hearing this, Alka nodded in sudden realization.
So Golden Wheat Island is protected by the Stone Mother? Are Divine beings real in this world? The thought shocked him a little.
Wait. This Otherworld has Extraordinary powers and, by extension, real Divine beings. What's so surprising about that?
With this in mind, Alka quietly began to eat.
「...」
In the darkness, only faint moonlight illuminated the sea.
A small canoe carrying one person was moving away from the island. Not far from its course, a ship lay anchored in the darkness.
The canoe stopped beneath the ship, and the person from it, carrying an oil lamp, climbed a rope ladder onto the larger vessel.
"Jason, you're back! What took you so long?" a rough male voice called out.
Jason patted down his clothes, took the two pistols he had acquired during the day from his backpack, and handed them over.
"Enough talk. Help me check—do either of these guns have a Magic Attribute?"
The man took them, looked them over, and then shook his head.
Seeing this, Jason slapped his thigh hard. "Damn it! Such bad luck."
"You spent all these days just for these two guns? Doesn't seem worth it."
Jason snatched the two pistols back and threw them into his backpack. He turned and headed into the ship's cabin. "Where's the boss?"
"The boss is in the captain's cabin. He's in a pretty bad mood from waiting for you."
"Alright, alright, I'll explain. Ah, what rotten luck," Jason muttered as he entered the cabin.
Then, the ship fell into silence once more.
The sail on the mast suddenly unfurled.
The entire vessel slowly advanced in the gentle night breeze. After passing through a faint white mist on the sea's surface, it vanished from sight.